Govt expects over $1t of market space addition in five years

It is preliminarily estimated that around 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of market space will be added in China over the next five years, unleashing tremendous development momentum and bringing significant benefits to people's livelihoods, said Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

At a news conference held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Friday, Zheng stated that the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for Economic and Social Development places "building a modern industrial system and consolidating and strengthening the foundation of the real economy" as the first strategic task. It outlines four key areas of focus, which can be summarized as "consolidating and upgrading the foundation, fostering innovation for new growth, expanding capacity and improving quality, and strengthening the foundation to enhance efficiency".

The NDRC, China's top economic regulator also highlighted that the value added of the country's "three new" economy in 2024 is projected to account for over 18 percent of GDP. Zheng noted that the recommendations emphasize the creation of emerging pillar industries and accelerating the development of strategic emerging industrial clusters, such as new energy, new materials, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy, which are expected to generate several trillion-yuan-level or even larger markets.

Zheng further stated that the recommendations call for forward-looking planning of future industries, aiming to achieve breakthroughs in areas such as quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications, turning them into new drivers of economic growth.

These industries are poised to gain momentum and, over the next decade, are expected to reshape China's high-tech sector, Zheng said.